The Decree "On the Opening of the Constituent Assembly" was occasioned by the fact that the electoral regulations had not provided for the minimum number of deputies at which the Constituent Assembly could be opened. The Cadets and right-wing Socialist Revolutionaries wanted to take advantage of this circumstance in order to open the Constituent Assembly on December 4 (November 28), 1917, on the day appointed by the Provisional Government, with any number of deputies whatsoever.

The Council of People's Commissars, taking into account that the elections in the localities had taken place at different times, and that the total composition of members of the Constituent Assembly had been determined at 842 deputies, resolved that the Constituent Assembly would be convened upon the presence of 400 deputies. Here is what Lenin said concerning the decree: "We are being proposed to convene the Constituent Assembly as it was conceived. No sir, excuse me! It was conceived against the people. We made the revolution in order to have guarantees that the Constituent Assembly would not be used against the people, that these guarantees would be in the hands of the government. In our decree it is clearly, unambiguously stated when the Constituent Assembly will be convened. We have given a precise answer to this question. Do not engage in reading hearts—we are concealing nothing. We said: when there are 400 deputies, we will convene the Constituent Assembly. It is not our fault that the elections took place later than appointed. In certain localities the Soviets themselves appointed later dates for elections. Given the staggered nature of the elections, it was necessary to determine what number of deputies would be sufficient for opening the Constituent Assembly. There was an attempt to exploit the circumstance that this number was not specified in the law, in order to convene the Constituent Assembly with any number of deputies. What position would the government have been in if it had permitted this? Soviet power acted correctly in establishing the number of deputies at which the Constituent Assembly would be considered properly convened." (From the speech on the question of the Constituent Assembly and arrests of members of the Cadet party. Works, vol. XXII, pp. 109–110.)

The decision of the Council of People's Commissars was approved by the Central Executive Committee at the session of December 14 (1) [or December 4 (1)] December 1917.

LENIN COLLECTION

The original decree was printed on a typewriter; the signatures are in his own hand.

The decree was printed in the "Gazette of the Temporary Workers' and Peasants' Government," No. 20, December 11 (November 28), 1917.